# South Africa Rand (ZAR USD) Hammered by Falling Oil, Sentiment - Bloomberg

> The rand plunged almost 8% against the dollar on March 8, reaching its weakest close since January 1980 as investors fled riskier assets. Tumbling oil prices added to nervousness over the spreading coronavirus.

- Date: 2020-03-09 · published 2020-03-09T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: macro · region South Africa · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/54415-south-africa-rand-zar-usd-hammered-by-falling-oil-sentiment-bloomberg
- Commodities: [South African Rand (ZAR per USD)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/USDZAR.md), [Crude Oil (Brent)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BRENT.md)

## Why it matters

The steep rand sell-off raises dollar-based import costs for South African buyers, and the oil-linked weakness signals a broader commodity demand shock.

## Read by commodity

- BRENT: bearish ▼
- USDZAR: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRENT | 2021-03-17 | [Oil Falls By Most in 6 Months as Recovery Falters - Bloomberg](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7043-oil-falls-by-most-in-6-months-as-recovery-falters-bloomberg.md) | -11.4% | -2.7% |
| BRENT | 2025-06-01 | [Oil falls as higher OPEC+ output expectations weigh on sentiment](https://feedsoft.ai/events/24838-oil-falls-as-higher-opec-output-expectations-weigh-on-sentiment.md) | +4.9% | +7.0% |
| BRENT | 2020-09-07 | [Brent Crude Tumbles Below $40 in Wake of Souring Demand Outlook - Bloomberg](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7473-brent-crude-tumbles-below-40-in-wake-of-souring-demand-outlook-bloomberg.md) | -6.1% | -7.7% |
| BRENT | 2021-03-19 | [RM opens 120 bps lower amid falling oil prices, US yields spike](https://feedsoft.ai/events/48389-rm-opens-120-bps-lower-amid-falling-oil-prices-us-yields-spike.md) | -1.8% | +5.9% |
| BRENT | 2020-03-15 | [Oil Slumps to Lowest Since 2016 as Demand Collapse Triggers Rout - Bloomberg](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7657-oil-slumps-to-lowest-since-2016-as-demand-collapse-triggers-rout-bloomberg.md) | -20.5% | -23.3% |

## Sources

- bloomberg.com: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-09/rand-hammered-by-fragile-sentiment-as-oil-adds-to-virus-threat

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.